Posted on July 1st, 2014

The publishing world is rapidly changing with the rise of the indie author. What’s less known is that some of the supporting services, like audiobooks, are also looking to find ways to take advantage of the most popular independently-published books.

I’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign for recording an audiobook of my novel, The Caldarian Conflict. This book was independently published and has sold thousands of copies. Last year, it was also selected for six months as a featured read in all Dunn Bros Coffee stores. In March, Common Mode, an audiobook company with over 30 years of experience contacted me with an interesting proposal: launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund a professionally produced audiobook using the best available voice talent.

Common Mode is trying this innovative crowdsourcing method to help independent authors afford the significant expense of hiring this top talent. The Caldarian Conflict is their second foray into this field, and the first full-length novel.

I’m really excited about this opportunity. Please join the adventure and help me make this a reality.

About me:

Mike Kalmbach grew up in a forest near Lake Michigan. Spending his summers chasing wizards and battling evil ogres, Mike has always had a creative mind. He’ll often share stories from his past, and some of them are even true.

After time dragged him from childhood, Mike moved into freelance editing, helping other authors improve dozens of stories. During the daylight hours, he writes software to help with genetics research. He leads the Rochester MN Writing group (over 100 members) and often speaks on topics from writing and editing to engineering and robotics.

Luckily, Mike now has two sons, so he has plenty of excuses to set down the pen and play. He lives in Minnesota where he, his family, and a band of pirates can still be found battling ogres, dust bunnies, and even the occasional dragon.

Mike has authored three released books, and is a freelance editor of dozens of other novels, including New York Times Bestseller The Darwin Elevator by Jason Hough.

If you’re a blogger and would like to help, please let me know in the comments or at [email protected]

Posted on June 2nd, 2014

I’m really excited: my friend, Ann Noser, is about to release her debut novel, published by Curiosity Quills! The cover reveal is today, and its release date is July 15, 2014.

Along with several other people, I worked through this story as a critique partner. It’s so cool to see it so close to meeting the world!

Here’s a short blurb:

College sophomore Emma Roberts remembers her mother’s sage advice: “don’t sleep around, don’t burp in public, and don’t tell anyone you see ghosts”. But when charming Mike Carlson drowns in the campus river under her watch, Emma’s sheltered life shatters.

Blamed for Mike’s death and haunted by nightmares, Emma turns to witchcraft and a mysterious Book of Shadows to bring him back. Under a Blood Moon, she lights candles, draws a pentacle on the campus bridge, and casts a spell. The invoked river rages up against her, but she escapes its fury. As she stumbles back to the dorm, a stranger drags himself from the water and follows her home. And he isn’t the only one.

Instead of raising Mike, Emma assists the others she stole back from the dead—a pre-med student who jumped off the bridge, a desperate victim determined to solve his own murder, and a frat boy Emma can’t stand…at first. More comfortable with the dead than the living, Emma delves deeper into the seductive Book of Shadows. Her powers grow, but witchcraft may not be enough to protect her against the vengeful river and the killers that feed it their victims.

Inspired by the controversial Smiley Face Murders, HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS will ignite the secret powers hidden deep within each of us.

Join me in congratulating Ann on her awesome cover and upcoming release. Put July 15th on your calendar to pick up this exciting new novel!

Posted on December 21st, 2013

As I was preparing to give Alex his bath last night, he stared out the window at one of the neighbor’s houses. “Lights out there, Dad! Lights!”

“Yep, you’re right,” I said. “They’re pretty, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, lights!”

I paused a moment so I could change the subject. “Come on, bud. Time for bath!”

I was tired. It’s been a long week–late nights, early mornings, the stress of trying to finish things at work before a long vacation. I was already in sweat pants, looking forward to maybe watching a movie before heading to bed myself.

I went to the bathroom to start the water. He padded along behind me, but then darted to his room. As I reached for the faucet, he came back with some outdoor clothes.

“Lights?” His voice trembled, realizing that we were about to do the normal routine, and that meant he’d soon be in bed. I could tell he was about to cry.

As a parent, I prefer to maintain routines. It’s good for kids to know what to expect each day, and this works for us–I rarely need to discipline him (other than the occasional playing too rough with his brother or the cats). On the other hand, I’m very mindful of helping my kids develop their independence. I want them to feel like their opinion matters.

I took my hand off the faucet. “You know, Alex, you’re right. Let’s break the rules and go look at some lights.”

We spent a half hour driving around our town, looking at all the lit-up houses. We talked constantly, pointing out the colors and the stars and the snow men. Alex had a blast (I did too), and when we got home, he went to bed without complaint. Even though I was still exhausted from the stress of the week, that half hour helped melt that stress away.

Sometimes we get so stuck in our routines that we forget to stop and admire the lights. I hope you take the time to break the rules with your family this holiday. Or on a random Monday.

Our time here is short, and knowing when to give in on something small can make a huge difference to a little boy. And his dad.

Posted on October 23rd, 2013

If you haven’t visited recently, you may see that my site layout has changed. Unfortunately, my personal website was hacked and populated with ads for certain little blue pills and other enhancement drugs. This required several hours of attempting to remove the embedded code before I finally decided to start over with a fresh install. Luckily, all of my data is regularly backed up, so all of the posts remain intact.

I’m taking advantage of the situation to create a custom theme for the site. It’s likely you’ll see lots of changes over the next few days, so please bear with me. Thanks in advance!

Posted on October 21st, 2012

Overall, good read. They provide a compelling argument for why human evolution has continued throughout the past several thousand years, and identifies some of the selective pressures that continue to act on us today.

In addition, this book includes an extensive resource list for additional reading and data that supports their conclusions.

While I personally would have liked a little more meat in the identification of specific genes responsible for changes in human DNA, or the selection pressures the authors believe will shape humanity’s future, this book is an accessible resource for armchair scientists.

Full disclosure: where did I obtain this book?

Purchased myself

To buy this yourself from Amazon, click on the image below!

Please note that I make a small percentage of the sales resulting from this link, but this did not influence my review.

Posted on October 12th, 2012

What a fun read!

Intense, suspenseful novel for middle grade readers–and adults will enjoy it too! I had so much fun with this book, and didn’t want to put it down, even for dinner!

What did I like? The mystery and suspense introduced by the tunnels, and the wonderful characterization of the main character, Ally, and her female friends. The Gauze Men made wonderful villains, and I loved the conflict surrounding the bank robberies, keeping secrets from parents, and early relationships.

My only issue is that many of the boy characters were difficult to remember–many of them, with the exception of Paul, Eric, and Jake, were pretty interchangeable. I would have liked to see more identifiable characteristics early on. That said, by the second two-thirds of the book, I completely hooked.

Posted on March 18th, 2012

My next book, Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories, is now available for preorder from Amazon. I’m pretty excited!

This book is the first in a series of non-fiction books designed to help teen writers through all the stages of writing, from creating stories to writing as a career. It’s great for new writers of all ages, and is organized into an easy-to-read format with plenty of examples and exercises.

As well as accepting preorders through Amazon, I’m also looking for early reviewers who will read the book and write a review in time for its April 24 launch. Readers will receive a free PDF of the book, and as might be obvious, should not distribute the file to anyone else. Simply comment on this blog post, post a message on my Facebook Author page, or send me a tweet via Twitter (@mikekalmbach).